The Hawk and The Mustang
by Rowan J. Holden
Summary: It's Roy's birthday, and Riza has something that he wants. Will she give it to him? Or will he take it by force? Royai. Implied lemon! :3
1. Chapter 1

He raised his head to look at her, but Hawkeye knew that something was wrong.

The way that he was looking at her...

It wasn't right, as if he was being possessed. This wasn't like Roy Mustang.

"Sir?" She said uncertainly, backing away from the desk. Mustang nodded, that same predatory gleam in his eyes, the smirk on his lips. He slowly got up out of his chair, and then began to walk towards her quickly, as if she were going to try and escape. Hawkeye backed up further still, and reached for her gun. She wouldn't have shot him, but it would have been threatening enough to have the gun with her, in case she needed it. Her eyes darted down at her waist, her breath caught in her throat. My gun.

I left it back in the hall.

"Please, Colonel," She said, a little more aggressively. "Stop."

But he kept walking. He was too close now, reaching for her arm...

Hawkeye cursed and tore her wrist away from his grasp. He reached for it again, and she retaliated with a slap, but Mustang caught her wrist and clenched his strong hands over her shoulders, pushing her up against the wall.

"Happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me..." The Colonel sang under his breath, his face only inches from hers.

_Earlier that day_

"Please, Lieutenant," Ed complained, still thrusting the box at her. "It's his birthday!"

She stood firm. "I told you, I'm not wearing that!"

Al sat in the corner or Lieutenant Hawkeye's office, Black Hayate in his lap. He raised his head to frown at them. "Brother," he said, "If she really, really, really doesn't want to wear it, she doesn't have to."

Ed sighed. "Just play with the puppy, Alphonse. Come on, Lieutenant, I'll even pay you, if I have to. Besides, it would look really good on you anyway, you've got really nice legs."

There was a soft click, and Ed looked up to see Hawkeye aiming a gun square at his forehead. "Would you like to tell me how you know what my legs look like, Fullmetal?" Her voice was soft, and dangerously calm, and more intimidating than Ed expected.

Ed froze, throwing his hands up in the air. "...I could guess?" he squeaked. The box had dropped to the floor. Hawkeye lowered the gun, and picked up the box.

"I'll try it on," She said hotly. "But it had better not be too small."

"Thanks, Lieutenant," Ed breathed a sigh of relief. "We owe you one."

"I know." She glared at him as she dissappeared into the next room.

Several minutes passed, and a series bumping noises were heard coming from the other side of the door, followed by a torrent of some very colorful language. Suddenly, all fell silent. Ed and Al raised their heads in alarm. "Lieutenant?" Ed called out.

"There is NO WAY."

He straightened up. "Just come out and show us, it can't be that bad..."

She opened the door and poked her head out to narrow her eyes at him and shove out a thin white cardboard box and a mass of cerulean tissue paper, before slamming the door in their faces. "I might as well go and stand out on the street corner," She yelled, "I look like a fallen woman!" Her voice grated rough with self-pity and disgust.

Al looked over at the door in concern. He turned to his brother in confusion. "Should we go in and help her up?"

Ed turned red. "That's not what 'fallen woman' means, Alphonse. Listen, Lieutenant, at least show us, and if it's really, really bad, I promise that you won't have to wear it."

Hawkeye poked her head around the corner again. "Remember that you promised, Edward," She growled, before stepping out and closing the door behind her.

Ed and Al stared at her.

"Oh...my," Al said, looking away and wincing.

Ed laughed. "Alphonse, be serious."

"Shut up, you two," The Lieutenant snarled. "I'm going to go take this disaster off, now.."

"No, wait!" Ed said, stopping her. "Come and look at yourself in the mirror!"

She grumbled something about respect, modesty, and sadistic perverts, but did as she was told.

"Wow... You really do have nice legs," Ed snickered and dodged a slap from the female officer.

"Watch it, kid." She put her hand on her hip. "So?"

"So, you're wearing it."

"Yeah, Lieutenant, you look really, really good," Al nodded encouragingly.

Hawkeye pursed her lips and checked her reflection again. "Oh, fine," She spat, "I'll wear it, but hey, I'm not doing this for you, I'm doing it because it's the Colonel's birthday, and you two won't leave me alone." And she left for a few moments to take it off, her mouth twisted into a half smirk, half grimace. The boys stared after her in disbelief.

It was done.

The impossible had happened.

Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye was wearing a miniskirt.


	2. Chapter 2

When the brothers headed back up to their room, they were completely exhausted. Today had been a long, long, day so far, and they needed some rest for the party tonight. Ed checked the clock. It was only two in the afternoon. Wow. Flopping down onto his bed, he stared at the ceiling and began to drift off.

_"Winry?" Ed whispered into the darkness._

"I'm right here, Ed," She giggled softly.

"I can't see you."

A dim light was held up in front of the Alchemist's face. A candle. He could make out Winry Rockbell's face behind the light.

"Come with me," She said in a distant voice, taking his hand and leading him out of the darkness and into a field of flowers made of stars and galaxies. "Aren't they beautiful?" She asked him, her voice echoing in his mind again.

"You're beautiful," Ed whispered, touching her arm gently. The spot that he had touched disintegrated into more stars. He touched it again, frantically this time, trying to make it go back to the way it was. "I'm sorry, Winry," He said, as she dissappeared into a cloud of stardust. I'm sorry. She looked at him, through the galaxy and stars that hid her from him, and then moved in and kissed him softly on the lips. He blushed. "You're so beautiful when you're made of stars," he said, his own voice echoing off of the corners of the earth.

Winry looked up at him and smiled that beautiful, care free, stardust smile. And she meowed.

Ed looked at her in confusion. "Winry?"

"Meow."

"...Winry?"

"Quick, get off, get in here!"

Ed opened his eyes slowly, and then blinked up at his little brother. "Alphonse...?"

And then he saw it.

The white and orange kitten in his brother's hands. It meowed enthusiastically at Ed. Al's face froze, and then he smiled hugely, covering up his obvious horror.

Ed looked at it strangely. It meowed again. "Al, where did you get that-"

"Meow!"

Huh? Ed looked down at the rest of his body.

He was covered in kittens.

"OH MY GOD!" He yelled, jumping up. The kittens jumped up and scattered, running for their lives. "CATS!" He roared, putting up his fists. "Come and get some! You want a piece of this? You want a piece of me? Huh?"

Two kittens collided head on and fell to the floor, dizzy. Al watched in horror. "Brother, I couldn't just leave them there, they were all alone, in a basket on the street! What would you have done?"

Ed stopped, and closed his eyes. "Alphonse, when I open my eyes," He said, his tone friendly and calm. "I had better not see even one cat. Do you hear me? One cat."

Al gulped and pushed a bunch of confused kittens into the hallway. Ed opened his eyes just as Al was finished evicting the last feline.

"That's better," He said, relaxing.

"I'd get up, if I were you. Winry should be here any minute now."

Ed looked up. "Huh?"

"Remember, Winry's going to meet us, and then we can all walk down together."

"Oh. Uh, I actually have to do something, do you think you and Winry can just go down without me, and I'll see you there?"

"Well, okay, but you might get back before we leave. She's going to hang out here for an hour or so, and then we're all going to go down at six."

"What time is it now?"

"Five."

"Okay," Ed said, quickly slipping his jacket on. "I'll be back in a little while."

"Bye."


	3. Chapter 3

The hallways were cleared, cleaned, and devoid of life, except for a few people that were leaving to go and get ready late. Ed glanced up nervously, knocking on the door of Hawkeye's office for the second time that day. Silence. Ed knocked again. The door opened a bit. "Come in," the lieutenant's voice rang. Ed pushed the door open and poked his head in. Hawkeye was at her desk, with a cup of coffee steaming next to her left hand, and a pen in her right as she signed a document. The window was cracked slightly, and a warm, summer breeze carried the first cricket's chirps through the air, ruffling Ed's hair ever so slightly.

"Hi, Lieutenant, are you busy?"

"Oh, it's you." Hawkeye looked disappointed.

"Who were you expecting?"

"More coffee."

"Oh."

There was a pause, and she closed up the document in a file folder and put it away. "Can I help you with something?"

Ed paused. "I... uh..." He looked down at the floor uncomfortably. "I need your advice."

Hawkeye stopped writing. This had caught her completely by surprise. "Advice?"

"...Yeah." The breeze came in again, more softly this time. Hawkeye nodded, waiting for him to go on.

"...Can I sit down?"

"Go ahead."

He took a seat, and gently picked at an edge on his automail. "There's this girl I like." Riza tilted her head to the side and leaned forward, her eyes glittering with interest. Now, this was more like it. Who would have thought Edward Elric a romantic? Hawkeye actually had more important things she could be doing, but curiosity got the better of her. "...and I wanna ask her out tonight."

"Do you think she likes you?"

"I don't really know. It's hard to say."

Hawkeye paused. "Do I know her?" Ed looked out the window at the clouds, glowing red with the light of the sunset. "I don't think so. But see, I figured that you could help me, since you're a girl, and she's a girl...so maybe you could tell me...what girls like."

The lieutenant smiled. "You're not so annoying when you make sense, kid."

Ed shrugged and smiled awkwardly. "Thanks. So... can you help me?"

"She'll like to hear that you think about her a lot."

"Huh?"

"Well, something I've noticed: When boys play hard to get, girls try harder to get them. But when it comes to a girl like Winry Rockbell, she'll like to know that you were thinking about her today."

"Great! I'll tell her... Wait a minute, how do you know Winry!? And...how did you know that it was her!?"

"You're with her a lot, the blond one, right? I did my research, I know all about her. Don't think I don't keep my eye on you, Fullmetal. The walls are my spies." She smirked, leaning back in her chair. "It's the way you act around her. You've got it bad, kid." Ed looked down at the floor. "I know."

"So, are you going to ask her out?" Riza crossed her arms comfortably, emanating superiority.

Edward tilted his head to the side and brushed his bangs out of the way. "I guess so."

"Good. Now get out of here, I have to get this monstrosity on." The miniskirt was folded on the desk next to her. Ed smiled at the floor. "Thanks, Lieutenant. I'll see you later on tonight."

"Bye, Edward." She leaned forward, tapping her pen on the document. Riza shook her head. Next, pigs would sprout wings and fly. Edward Elric, in love. Wow.


	4. Chapter 4

Hawkeye somehow managed to get into her miniskirt, and out the door on time. Thankfully, Hughes had informed her that she wouldn't have to wear it all night, she had a dress waiting for her to change into once the "March of the Bimbos," as Hawkeye called it, was over.

She headed down the stairs to the basement, following the voices of people that were already there. "All female officers, over here, please!" She sighed and took place next to another girl with auburn hair in a shiny knot behind her head, at the end of the line. Hughes looked at his clipboard. "Lieutenant Hawkeye?"

"Sir."

"Over here, you're at the front."

"You're not serious, Lieutenant Colonel."

"Well, come on, let's go!" Reluctantly, she took her new position, and tugged the skirt down to get more coverage. There was an explosion of sound in the next room, people cheering, yelling "Happy birthday!" and more music.

"That's our cue," Hughes said. "Ready, girls?"

"Yes sir!" They all saluted him, including Hawkeye.

"Then let's go!"

They began to march into the party from the side door, where a makeshift stage had been set up to the side of the room. When the girls appeared in the miniskirts, there was some laughter, and lots of cheering and applause. Hawkeye thought she might have even heard a few whistles as she turned to walk down the side stairs and past the Colonel, as planned. Each girl blew Roy a kiss and strutted like a supermodel as they passed him. Except for Hawkeye. Because every girl there was proud and enthusiastic about wearing their miniskirt in front of the Colonel. Except for Hawkeye. Because nearly every girl there was pretty much in love with the Colonel. Except for Hawkeye. She didn't blow a kiss, she didn't walk like a supermodel, she simply walked, like she was instructed to do. As she passed, they made eye contact, and he smirked, his eyes following her all the way down the aisle and out the front door. As soon as the Lieutenant was outside, she was met by Ed and Al.

"See? That wasn't so bad," Ed said triumphantly.

"Okay, Edward, now can I please have some decent clothing?"

He nodded, pointing her towards her office. "In there. Hughes left it on your desk."

She nodded and made for her office, before closing the door behind her. The sun was still setting, and it made the entire room glow with a soft red light. Out her window, the mountains were tinted with a deep, royal purple against the pink sky. The sun was a ruby orb, sinking low into the horizon, behind streaks of orange and pink cloud.

It was so beautiful. Hawkeye felt her heart pound. I wish I could save it, She thought sadly, reaching over her desk to pull up a garment bag with a tag on it. She unzipped it and pulled out her dress, a chocolate brown evening gown with a slit up the side. She pulled out a pair of white gloves.

Making sure the door was locked, Hawkeye shed the rest of her uniform and slipped into a pair of sheer pantyhose and her special occasion heels, before realizing that the dress had no straps. She looked into the mirror and frowned at her bra. After a long moment, she unhooked it, folded it, and hid it in the garment bag, which she hung back up in her closet. In the mirror, something around her neck glinted in the red light. Her necklace. When she'd first joined the military, the Colonel had given it to her, telling her that "All female officers were required to wear a necklace from their superiors as a reminder of status," but Riza had laughed and told him that "Male superiors were not allowed to hit on the female officers."

But she'd accepted the necklace, and had been wearing it ever since. She didn't know why. Silver looked good on her, and the fire opal in the center was just... stunning.

Now, she stepped into the flowing brown organza and satin, noting how it complimented her eye color. She zipped herself up as far as the zipper would go, and laced up the back for the rest of the way, before stepping into her shoes. Then, for once, she pulled the fire opal out from under her clothing and let it rest on top. Finally, after readjusting her hair and pulling on the gloves, she surveyed her reflection in the mirror with satisfaction. "Much better," she murmured.

"I agree," a voice said from behind her.

She whirled around, and her lips parted in shock. "Colonel Mustang!"

"How many times do I have to tell you to call me Roy?"

He sidled over to her desk and took a seat on top of it. "Where did you get that lovely necklace?"

She reddened a bit. "How long have you been there?"

He leaned back, supporting his upper body with his hands. "A few minutes. I didn't see much, if that's what you're worried about."

Hawkeye exhaled. "Yes, sir."

"Roy."

"Roy," She said stiffly. "What are you doing here, anyway?"

"I just came to tell you how good you looked out there earlier."

"Thank you." Her tone was formal and uncomfortable.

"You're welcome," He said, picking up a gilded picture frame off of her desk. "Is this the boyfriend?"

"It used to be, Sir."

"So get rid of the picture, if you two aren't-"

"He's dead, Sir."

"Call me Roy." She ignored his request.

"So how did he die?"

"In the Ishbal Rebellion, Sir, he was killed. He used to be a State Alchemist."

"I'm sorry." But Hawkeye could tell that he was only sorry to a certain degree. The breeze crept in, and Hawkeye could feel the Colonel's eyes on her. She gazed out the window. The sky was now a brilliant purple, and the sun a red jewel that could just barely be seen over the mountain tops. "I'm going back to the party," She told him. "Don't stay in here too long, please."

"That's okay. I'm coming too."

They walked back into the room together, but neither of them said a word. Once they were in, Hughes rushed over and tapped Mustang on the shoulder, distracting him. "Your song, Colonel!"

Roy grinned. "Perfect. I'll be back," He told Hawkeye with a smirk, before following Hughes over to the stage. Hawkeye sat down at a nearby table and took a sip of champagne, watching the people around her.

"Lieutenant." She looked up, and set her glass down on the table. "Hello, Edward."

"Enjoying yourself so far?" Ed said with humor in his voice. She couldn't help but smile. "Did you find Winry?"

That got his attention. "Where is she?" Riza pointed to Winry across the room, dressed in a powder blue dress and diamond earrings.

"Thanks, Lieutenant."

"Knock 'em dead, kid." She laughed under her breath as Ed left her side to go talk to Winry. Suddenly, the music changed, and the lights dimmed. More cheers were heard around her.

"Thanks, everyone," Roy said into a microphone, as music began to play. Red and gold spotlights roved around the room. Riza covered her eyes with a hand as one passed over her. The Colonel continued. "As usual, and thanks to the biggest mouth in his division, Lieutenant Colonel Hughes," He said, drawing some laughs from the crowd. "I had no idea that this was coming, thank you all so much." The music's tempo picked up, and he lowered the microphone, moving his head to the beat. He raised it again. "You all know my song," He laughed. "You all know my name, so let's go!"

"I'm a trouble starter, punking instigator,"

"Hey, Hey, Hey!" The crowd cheered.

"I'm the fair indited, danger illustrated,"

"Hey, Hey, Hey!"

"I'm the firestarter, twisted firestarter,"

"Hey, Hey, Hey!"

"You're the firestarter, twisted firestarter,"

"Hey, Hey, Hey!"

"I'm a firestarter, twisted firestarter!"

Hawkeye watched him, laughing. She had her reasons for never wanting to admit it to anyone, but Roy could really make her laugh sometimes. Sure, she wasn't in love with him, in fact, sometimes, she hated him. But he made her smile, which was quite an accomplishment, even for someone like him.

When the song was over, he sank into a huge, over exaggerated bow, and winked at the females. They all swooned. Hawkeye nearly choked on her champagne laughing. She watched him from there for most of the remainder of the evening, as he drank champagne, and talked to his friends, and drank some more champagne, and then drank something out of a small silver bottle that Fuhrer Bradley handed to him discreetly, and then drank some more champagne...

Hawkeye frowned, standing up and walking over to where the Colonel was standing, (Or, trying to, anyway) and nodded at Hughes and the Fuhrer. "I think he's done for tonight," She said, smiling at them. "I'll get him back to the dorm. Good night, Fuhrer. Hughes."

She took Roy by the arm and led him out of the room, up the stairs, and into his office. She flicked on the lights, and sat him down at his desk. He slumped over and rested his head on the desk, apparently asleep. Hawkeye sighed. She would be, no doubt, his babysitter tomorrow. When Roy had a hangover, he had a hangover. "Goodnight, Colonel." She turned to leave, then stopped, sighed, and looked back at him through the dim light, over her shoulder. "Goodnight, Roy."

"Finally," the colonel slurred from behind her.


	5. Chapter 5

He raised his head to look at her, but when she saw his eyes, Hawkeye knew that something was wrong.

The way that he was looking at her.

It wasn't right, as if he was being possessed. This wasn't like Roy Mustang.

"Sir?" She said uncertainly, backing away from the desk. Mustang nodded, that same predatory gleam in his eyes, the smirk on his lips. He slowly got up out of his chair, and then began to walk towards her quickly, as if she were going to try and escape. Hawkeye backed up further still, and reached for her gun. She wouldn't have shot him, but it would have been intimidating enough to have the gun with her, in case she needed it. Her eyes darted down at her waist, her breath caught in her throat. My gun.

I left it back in the hall.

"Please, Colonel," She said, a little more aggressively. "Stop."

But he kept walking. He was too close now, reaching for her arm.

Hawkeye cursed and tore her wrist away from his grasp. He reached for it again, and she retaliated with a slap, but Mustang caught her wrist and clenched his strong hands over her shoulders, pushing her up against the wall. She stared up at him in terror.

"Happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me..." The Colonel sang under his breath, his face only inches from hers.

She struggled to break free, but only succeeded in hurting herself. "You're drunk!"

"Only a little, baby," Roy said with a grin, pressing his body against hers, trapping her. Hawkeye screamed, but her cry was silenced when Mustang's lips met hers. She tried to slap him again, but he lifted one arm and caught her wrist, keeping her pinned to the wall with one strong arm across the front of her shoulders. Her other hand was trapped behind her back. Suddenly, she felt the bottom of her dress move, and Roy's hand trace up the back of her thigh.

She twisted and screamed again, but was still muffled by his lips, and nobody would hear her over the loud music in the other room.

When he finally pulled his mouth away from hers, she bit her lip in frustration and glared at him. "Are you finished yet?"

"Not even close," He said, taking both of her wrists in his hands and pulling her over to his desk. She continued to struggle, trying to break his grasp, but he just laughed and threw her onto the floor. She let out a cry of pain. He laughed again and pinned her down at the shoulders again when she tried to crawl away. Hawkeye kicked at him, her face heating up and her lungs burning. He was drunk. He wouldn't listen to her...

"Fuck! Please...your judgment is impaired...please, sir, you don't know what you're doing..." She pleaded with him.

If only she'd brought her gun. Dammit, Riza, why didn't you bring the gun? She had never felt so completely helpless, completely unable to fight back. Nobody messed with Riza Hawkeye, unless they wanted a bullet up the ass. And everyone knew it.

But Roy was still a man, and she was still a woman. Still physically weaker than him.

"Roy!" She yelled, kicking again as he held her wrists above her head on the floor with one hand and tossed her dress aside with the other. Her face burned with humiliation. She was being pinned to the floor like a helpless, half naked rag doll.

"No! You can't do this! Please, you don't know what you're doing! Help! Please, somebody, help!" Praying that someone would hear her cries, Hawkeye tried to stall for time by fighting as hard as she could for as long as she could. "Please, someone, help!"


	6. Chapter 6

Roy grinned at her, his eyes gleaming in the dim light. "You're feisty," he slurred, swaying a little on top of her, as he tried to pull her underwear off. She kicked, screaming again when she felt them slide down her legs.

"Stop, please..." she began to cry, tears of hurt and terror falling from her face and dripping onto the floor. "...anyone..." she whispered, her voice nearly gone. "...help..."

At this exact moment, Lieutenant Colonel Hughes chose to burst into the room. "I thought you might need some help getting him- Oh My God!" His eyes widened as he registered the scene before him.

Hawkeye kicked at Roy again and screamed again, to get Hughes' attention. "Please... make him stop... anything...just get him off of me... please..." she bit her lip, more tears streaming down her face.

"HUGHESEY!" Roy grinned triumphantly. "Check this out!" Hughes' eyes widened.

She whimpered into the carpet, and suddenly, she could feel Roy's weight vanish, she realized that her wrists, both bruised and burned from the carpet, were free.

"Get off of her!" Hughes yelled, shoving the colonel to the floor. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

Roy began to protest."Hey, listen, buddy..." he slurred, throwing an arm around Hughes' neck. "We were jus messin' around..."

Hughes rolled his eyes and hit the colonel, knocking him out with one punch. The stunned man fell to the floor, nearly crashing on top of Hawkeye, who was trying to crawl behind his desk to cover herself. She had never been more humiliated in her life. "Stay where you are, and don't move," Hughes told her, leaving something on the desk. "If he comes to before I'm back, don't be afraid to threaten him." She lifted a hand and brought it down on the object, pulling it over the edge towards her. Through the darkness, she could tell that it was... yes.

Her gun.

How had Hughes known? Was there some chance that God was on her side? That she hadn't deserved that, after all? She rested the cold metal against her forehead and took several deep breaths, relief flooding her. She was naked, wearing only a pair of heels, she was exhausted, her throat burned from screaming, she was bruised and beaten up, and she was weak, but she felt more like Riza Hawkeye again. Bullet up the ass, and all of that.

When Hughes returned, there were two men with him. "Stop," He instructed them, before poking his head into the room. "Lieutenant Hawkeye, are you still there?"

"Yes," She called softly through the darkness.

"Well, cover yourself."

She did. "Okay," Hughes said to them. They entered. "Secure the Colonel and lock him up for the night."

"Yes sir." The two men saluted him. "Wait," Hughes said, pausing. "Tell no one of this."

"Yes, sir." They said in unison, before dragging the drunken colonel from the room.

When they were out of sight, Hughes approached Hawkeye. "Are you okay?" She drew her knees up to her chest and crossed her legs at the ankles to cover herself up, as she stared down at her gun, still flushed and breathing hard. Clutching the gun, she shook her head, tears still falling onto the floor. "Here, put this on," He said, removing his jacket and giving it to her. "Did he hurt you?" She nodded slowly as she pulled the jacket on and wrapped it tightly around herself, biting her lip to try and stop the tears. "Oh, god, This is my fault..." Hughes growled at the empty doorway after them. "I never should have let you take him back."

At this, Hawkeye shook her head violently, her eyes wide and horrified at this suggestion. "No, no, no," she whispered, her throat still too raw for her to speak.

"Let's go get you some clothes, and I'll call my wife; She's in town, she was going to visit me tomorrow morning," he said, looking at her distressed face. "I assume you don't want people to know."

"Thank you, sir," she whispered again.

"I don't think that in the given situation, there's any need for formalities, Riza," he said, narrowing his eyes at the empty doorway again. "Can you walk?"

"I think so."

"Try." He helped her up off of the floor and they walked a few feet, before she let out a cry of agony and fell to the carpet again.

"Alright, come here," he said, picking her up off of the floor and carrying her. He made sure that the coast was clear, and then dashed for the stairwell, not particularly in the mood to explain this to anyone else. When they finally reached her room, he unlocked the door with a master key and slipped inside, shutting it after them. Carefully, quickly, and silently, he let her down, so she could take a few painful steps towards her bed and fall onto it with exhaustion. Then, he excused himself to go and make a phone call.

"Yes," she heard him say. "I need to you to come, and fast. No, don't bring Elysia. She can't- Oh, I see. Well, I suppose that If you told them to...No, I don't think they could watch her. Nobody can know that you're here. I can't tell you now, I have to go, and you have to come quickly." He walked back into the room and shut the door. "Okay, I'm alone, now. Yes, come now. You remember Riza Hawkeye, Gracia..." And Hughes told his wife everything. When he was done, he took a deap breath. "I love you too. Now hurry." And he hung up the phone.

"She's on her way," he told her. "Is there anything I can get you?"

"Water..." Riza whispered, her back to him.

He disappeared into the bathroom, and came back with a glass half full of water. She sat up slowly, so as not to hurt herself, and drank the entire thing. "You're a mess," he said sadly. "This is awful."

She set the glass down on the nightstand, and looked at him fiercely. "I can't believe that you would blame yourself," she whispered forcefully. "There was no way that you could have known, and face, it, sir, you saved me from-"

Her voice was cut off by a knock on the door. Hughes looked puzzled. "She's here already!? Gracia!" he cried out happily, flinging the door open and throwing his arms around the two startled men.

"Um... sir?"

He drew back and his eyes widened. "You're not Gracia..." he told them, as if he were revealing the secret of the universe.

"No," one said amusedly. "I don't believe that we are, sir. But Colonel Roy Mustang is secured and locked up for the night, and will be removed from his cell before dawn to ensure absolute secrecy."

"Thank you, boys," he said, regaining his professional air. "Gracia!" he cried again, this time to a woman that burst through the door at the other end of the hallway.

She jogged over to him and kissed him quickly, before entering the room and shooing Hughes into the corridor. "Out, out out!" she snapped, swatting him away.

"But-but-Gracia!" He cried, just as the door was slammed in his face.

Hawkeye heard the woman's soft footsteps as she approached her bed and carefully sat down on it. "Can I call you Riza?"

Hawkeye nodded. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Grac- Mrs. Hughes..." She said, closing her eyes and smiling though the pain.

"Oh," Gracia said, tucking a strand of light brown hair behind her ear. "Please, call me Gracia, and there's no need to pretend you're alright if you're not. Here. Drink this," She said, producing what must have been one of Elysia's apple juice boxes. Hawkeye felt five years old again, but she drank it. All of it. "Which drawer is your sleepwear?" she said, opening and closing drawers in the dresser across the room.

"Top," Hawkeye whispered, and drank some more juice. There was another opening, the rustle of fabric, and the closing of the drawer, and Gracia helped Hawkeye change into a pair of soft, navy blue satin pajama bottoms and a matching camisole. "These look comfortable," She said, smiling, and making conversation. "But purple is really more my color."

Hawkeye smiled weakly and drank some more apple juice. "Thank you, Gracia..."

"Please, it's no trouble. You know, I went through exactly the same thing. I felt like I was completely doomed. If Maes hadn't burst in the room when he had..." Gracia shuddered. "It would have been awful. He saved my life, and we ended up going on a date afterwards."

Hawkeye's eyes widened.

She smiled. "It's in the past now, and I can't remember any part of that day more clearly than when my friends visited me in the hospital."

Hawkeye looked shocked. "You were hospitalized?"

"Well, yes. Not everyone is as lucky as you, to have someone come to the rescue before anything bad happens." Hawkeye looked down. "Anyway," Gracia continued, "Nobody talked about it at all, and that made me feel so much better. I was treated like a princess." She picked up a hairbrush and began to get out the tangles in Hawkeye's long blonde hair. "You've got lovely eyes," she said.

"Thank you." Hawkeye smiled a bit. Gracia was right. It was better not to talk about it. "I've heard so much about you and your daughter from your husband, I feel like I know you. Elysia turned three this year?"

"Mmhm." Gracia set the hairbrush down on the table. "Do you want some alone time, or should I stay?"

"I'll be okay by myself."

"Alright, try to get some sleep." Gracia picked up her bag.

As she watched the woman turn to leave, Hawkeye suddenly reconsidered. What had she been thinking? She didn't want to be left here alone. "Wait," She said quickly, then bit her lip and looked down, embarrassed.

"It's okay if you want me to stay, I can."

Riza nodded. "...Thank you."

"I told you, it's no trouble."

Hawkeye looked out the window at the night sky, again. The moon was rising over the mountains. She turned back to Gracia's gentle face. "I think I'm going to go to sleep, now."

"I'll stay here too, and don't be afraid to wake me up if you need anything."

With a nod, Hawkeye went to brush her teeth. What a night. She closed the bathroom door behind her, and took off her camisole to inspect the damage that the Colonel had done.

When Riza looked up to see her reflection, a gasp of shock left her lips. She took a deep breath. There were varying sizes and colors of bruises all along the side of her body where she'd been thrown to the floor, and burns from the carpet from when she'd slid. They also marked a line across her back and shoulders from Roy shoving her up against the wall, and more burns on her forearm. She had to look away. Roy did this to me. Roy did this to me. He was a bit of a pervert when he was in a good mood, and a little annoying at times, but she still couldn't believe it. Roy Mustang did this to me. He was sweet to her. He never put her in danger. Roy did this to me. "Dammit, Colonel," With tears in her eyes, she slipped back into her top.

Why? Why did he do it? Was he as drunk as I thought? Or as sober as he claimed to be? Cursing him again, Riza tied up her hair into a loose ponytail and clipped her bangs out of the way so that she could wash her face.

"Everything okay in there?" Gracia called, making Hawkeye jump a bit. She turned off the water.

"Everything's fine," She said, walking out and shutting the door behind her.

After a long, long time, Riza Hawkeye finally drifted off to a deep, dreamless sleep.

The last dreamless sleep that she would have for a long, long time.


	7. Chapter 7

The next morning, Hawkeye woke up late. She gazed out the window serenely, watching the clouds move lazily through the sky. When she turned over, she saw an unfamiliar handbag lying on her dressing table. Huh? Then, it all came back to her, images rushing through her mind at a sickening pace. Oh, god...

Her stomach lurched. She ran to the bathroom and flung the door open, before sinking to the tile floor and heaving, vomiting into the toilet. She raised her head and tried to stand, but her head throbbed and she crashed to the floor again, holding it between her hands.

She felt so dizzy, her head was spinning. Hawkeye used her elbows to support herself over the toilet bowl. Tears fell into the water as she heard the door open and close. "Riza?" A paper bag rustled as Gracia dropped it onto the table. "I brought you some breakfast... oh, my!" She left the bag and was next to Hawkeye in an instant, rubbing her back gently in circular patterns and holding her hair out of the way as the lieutenant threw up. When Hawkeye was finished, Gracia handed her a glass of water. "Here."

Riza accepted it and drank it all, occasionally rinsing her mouth in the sink. "Thank you so much, Gracia..." She said weakly, leaning forward. "For all of your help...I honestly don't know what I would have done without you."

Gracia laughed a little. "I'm the mother of a three year old. Trust me, I've seen worse."

Hawkeye stood up slowly and flushed the toilet, supporting herself on the counter. "Make sure that Elysia listens to you, and takes good care of herself, okay?"

There was an intense silence as Gracia's gaze met Hawkeye's. "I will."

~

As Hawkeye dressed, Gracia waited patiently. "Hurry, Maes is coming up in a few minutes with an update on your schedule today, or so he says." Hawkeye nodded and got into her uniform, and tied up her hair. She had just finished, when there was a knock at the door. "Come in," Hawkeye called, saluting Hughes as he opened the door. He gave his wife a quick kiss, and turned to Hawkeye. "How are you doing?"

"I'll live," Hawkeye said, a bit resentfully.

Hughes gave her a grim smile. "The Colonel requests that you come to his office immediately, he would like to speak with you."

The Lieutenant's eyes widened. "No."

Hughes signed. "He's desperate to see you, Lieutenant, perhaps if I supervised the conversation..."

"No!" Her voice had a razor sharp edge to it.

The Lieutenant Colonel tried again. "I'm sorry, Lieutenant, but it was a direct order."

Riza looked from Hughes to Gracia, who were both gazing at her with clear sympathy and even concern. "Stop looking at me like that," She said, a bit harshly. "I'll go, but only for five minutes, you got that? No more than five minutes."

Hughes paused. "Excellent. Let's go, then. Gracia, I'll catch up with you later." Gracia nodded and waved as Hawkeye and Hughes left the room.

They walked in silence. Hughes tried to make conversation a few times, but Hawkeye ignored him. "As I told you, nobody knows about last night's events but us, so the Colonel has been instructed to continue his day normally. He'll be in his office," He added. She said nothing, but knocked twice on the door.

"Come in," Came the Colonel's reply. Hawkeye gave Hughes one last glance. He nodded grimly, opening the door for her. She sighed and entered, not once looking up at the Colonel.

He was sitting at his desk, looking like hell. His hair was a mess, he was pale and listless, and his eyes were red from being rubbed at.

"Good morning, Lieutenant," He said slowly.

She crossed her arms and looked away.

Roy bit his lip in frustration. "I really don't know what to say. This is really hard for me-"

Riza scoffed. "Hard for you."

He stood up and slammed his fists onto the desk. "Why can't you be mature about this?"

She glared at him now, angry tears welling up in her eyes. "You took advantage of me, you sick bastard, and you want me to be mature? Okay, I'll be mature! You're a disgrace! You were completely smashed last night! Hughes had to knock you out to get you off of me! I've never, not once in my life, been so utterly and completely humiliated!" She broke off, her face burning, tears coming again.

Roy watched her as the tears came again, she began to cry. "Riza, I'm so, so sorry," He said, looking at her seriously. "That's all I can say. I never would have done it, never should have-"

"You will address me formally, sir," She growled at him.

"So what, then? Are we just going to ignore each other for the rest of out lives? Are you going to avoid me, like a child?"

"Sounds like a good plan."

"Riza, please..."

She stood up, cocking her gun and raising it to his eye level. "I asked you to address me formally, Sir," She said calmly, forcing herself to remain cool and collected as always, but she could only hold out for so long, before she threw the gun forcefully at the wall behind him. "Dammit!" She raged. "Why does nobody respect me? Why does nobody take me seriously? The only time that that ever happens is when I've got this fucking gun aimed at them! Why is that? Am I weak? Am I just a joke to you?"

"Lieutenant," He said sharply. "Do you have any idea..."

Oh, this is going to be good.

"Any idea whatsoever..."

He's gonna try and make me feel guilty. Riza, I do so much more work than you, et cetera. Typical.

"Any grasp at all of the unbelievable concept..."

She rolled her eyes. At least, I still have one weapon at my disposal.

Damn...what's it called again?

"Any, ANY idea at all..."

Oh, yeah. Sarcasm.

"...Of how much I love you?"

Hawkeye opened her mouth to say something nasty, but stopped. Her mouth stayed open, but her words suddenly failed her. "...I'm sorry?"

"You heard me, Lieutenant."

She sat in silence for a long time, staring at him. "You..."

"I love you."

At these words, something invisible and divinely important came hurtling at her from the very core of the universe and knocked the wind out of her. She suddenly felt dizzy as she realized it, as if she was standing at the edge of a high cliff, nothing but blackness beneath her. Her lungs burned for air, though she was breathing normally. "...I ...I have to go." She whispered, as if she didn't believe herself.

Roy looked concerned. "Lieutenant, wait."

She stood up and backed away from him, shaking her head, eyes wide. "No..."

"No, please, don't go, Riza, wait! Riza-"

But she'd already turned and ran, tearing away, leaving her gun in the office with him.

She didn't stop running. She passed people that stared after her as she ran, but she still didn't stop, or answer them. "Are you alright? Lieutenant Hawkeye?" The clip that held her hair up fell out, clattered into a corner of the hallway, but she didn't stop to pick it up. She just ran, and ran, and ran, with no idea and no care at all for where she was going. It didn't matter. She just needed to get out. When she was sure that she was alone, she locked the door to a room, which one, she didn't know. She threw herself over to the corner and let herself slide down to the floor. Then, with nobody there to put an arm around her, nobody to stop her, nobody to see her, she began to cry. "I love him," she sobbed, tilting to the side and lying on the carpet, knees tucked up against her chest. "I love him." She gripped the carpet tightly, her tears leaving wet stains that spread out over it, as if the entire world was spinning out of control, out of the galaxy and out into the universe, faster and faster, never slowing, never stopping. Her heart was pounding. What the fuck is wrong with me? I never lose my cool. Never! I'm Riza Hawkeye! I'm always in control of myself. What the hell is happening? But deep down, she knew it. It felt raw, like an open wound. I'm in love. I'm in love with the Colonel. God, how could I be so stupid? How could I not have realized it?

I love him.


	8. Chapter 8

It took nearly a half an hour for her to calm down, before she left the empty room and went to pick up her schedule for the rest of the day. She didn't tell anyone what had happened, not even when they confronted her to ask. She acted like she always did, feeling strangely calm and collected inside. Never panicking, never missing a beat, poking humor at Hughes, and smiling at Ed and Al as she passed them in the hallways. She didn't speak to the Colonel for the rest of the afternoon.

~

A few hours passed, and finally, the tired sun sank low beneath the horizon line, letting the round, full moon take its place. Stars dusted the sky outside. Hawkeye yawned.

She was in her office, reading a report from one of her men and stapling it together to send to the record room, when there was a knock at the door. She called out. "Come in."

Hughes entered, holding a folder full of papers. "These are for you," He said, nodding at them.

"Thank you."

"So... Lieutenant... can I ask how your conversation with the Colonel went this morning?"

She smiled at him. "No."

He stared at Hawkeye, confused. "...Okay," He said, still looking puzzled.

She laughed. "Well, let me know if there's anything I can do for you, Hughes."

Hughes walked out, a bit dazed. "Get some sleep, Lieutenant..." He called back over his shoulder.

It surprised Riza that she was acting so normally. "Okay." I really should get some sleep. She yawned again. The Colonel should be upstairs by now, I'll just grab my gun and go back to the room.

She locked her office and turned to go, stretching her arms as she did. With her eyes closed, she didn't realize that the Colonel was standing right in front of her until she had crashed right into him. When she looked up, a scream left her lips, the aftermath trauma of the night before. He quickly clapped a hand over her mouth, and let it fall back to his side when he was sure that she wasn't going to attack him. "Sh," He said, grabbing the key to her office and unlocking the door. She opened her mouth to protest. "Colonel, what-"

"We need to talk," He said in a quick, low voice.

She barely had time to react before Roy had wrenched open the door and pushed her gently inside, before following her and locking it again.

"I've got my other gun this time, Colonel," Riza said bemusedly.

"Very funny, Lieutenant."

"So, what is it you wanted to talk to me about?"

"This afternoon?"

Oh, damn. Riza swallowed hard. She'd completely forgotten about this afternoon. He loves me, she remembered, and tried her hardest not to turn red, or even make eye contact.

"I think I made a big mistake by telling you that."

She looked up at him, and felt behind herself for the light switch.

"Leave it off, I've got a migraine."

Hawkeye stepped towards him, her brown eyes glinting in the dark. "Do you really?"

He looked out the window. "...No."

"Sir, you didn't make a mistake. You have every right to tell me, and you shouldn't have to worry about my reaction. I wouldn't treat you any differently, you know, that's not like me."

He glanced over at her, and then back out the window. The moonlight was the only light in the entire room. Riza watched him for a long, long time, taking in the way that the moonlight illuminated his face. She took a deep breath and continued, trying to think of him the same way she always had. "I just-"

"You're wearing my necklace."

She stopped, her mouth still open. "...I'm sorry?"

Roy looked at her again, then back out the window again. "You're wearing the fire opal that I gave you on your first day here. I would think that after last night..." He sounded like he was in pain as he said those two words. "...you wouldn't want to wear it anymore."

"It looks good on me," She shot back. "With all due respect, sir, don't be so full of yourself."

He was silent.

"Besides," She said, running her finger along the edge of the metallic surface that covered her gun. "I'm generally a forgiving person. At least, when it comes to Black Hayate."

He looked a bit unsettled. "So... what are you saying?"

She sighed and walked over to him, to sit on top of her desk. He moved out of her way and sat on the sofa a few feet away from her.

"So, what I'm saying is, I know that last night was a big misunderstanding for both of us, and I realize that you never would have put me through it if you were in your right mind."

"Riza," He said forcefully, and she didn't correct him when he called her by her first name. "What I did was inexcusable. You don't have to pretend you're okay with it. Because it wasn't okay. And it will never be okay."

Hawkeye said nothing, but walked over to the couch and sat down next to him. He quickly got up. She narrowed her eyes, annoyed. "Oh, please, would you stop that already?"

He sat back down. "Sorry." There was silence for a few moments. "Colonel," She said, deciding to tell him the truth. "I don't think it was a mistake at all for you to tell me, and I respect the... um... Sir? Are you listening?"

He wasn't listening. He was looking at her sadly. "I'm sorry," he said, his hands rubbing together furiously in his lap to distract him. "I've got a lot on my mind at the moment, I'm afraid." He sighed again.

Hawkeye looked down at her hands, too. "I can't believe that this is happening to us..." She murmured at the floor.

Roy tilted his head to the side, and lowering it to make eye contact with her. "Riza?"

"I'm falling for you," She said, her voice barely more than a whisper. "I'm so stupid for not realizing it before, but Colonel... Roy... I've been falling in love with you since day one. I should have known it would only be a matter of time..."

Roy said nothing, but lowered his head to kiss the Lieutenant.

And this time, Hawkeye kissed him, too.

The moment that their lips connected, Riza felt a spark ignite, something small that had been burning inside of her for much too long. It began to smolder, hotter and hotter untill it burst into flame. "Roy..." She murmured, breaking the kiss for what seemed like hours. He leaned her back onto the sofa and kissed her again.


	9. Chapter 9

Hawkeye closed her eyes, her hand moving up to tangle itself in the Colonel's raven hair as their lips moved against each other.

Every kiss, every time their lips connected, they were reminded of the rules that they were breaking, the lines being crossed in so many ways. But hidden, unspoken, inside of these reminders, was the fact that this moment felt more right to them than anything else in the world. As she slipped her hands between them to unbutton his shirt, Riza knew that even if the world stopped turning at this exact moment, everything would be alright, as long as she was with him. She lifted her upper body so that he could slip her out of the top of her uniform, leaving only a tight-fitted tee shirt and her bra underneath. Roy kicked off his boots, and she pushed one off with her foot, then the other. He looked down at her and grinned. Riza laughed, pulling her hair out of it's clip. Nothing healed her long since broken heart faster than seeing him smile down at her, his eyes glowing in the darkness. His face was soft and warm, but his eyes were dark and serious, full of fire. He wanted her more than anything in the universe and she knew it.

She slipped quickly out of the bottom of her uniform, leaving only a white cotton pair of panties and her top. There was a pause. For a moment, the two of them just gazed at each other, thinking about the consequences of what was about to happen. Hawkeye shivered, the cool chill of the night air from the open window moving over her skin.

To hell with consequences.

Riza lifted her arms above her head, allowing him to pull the tee shirt off of her with ease. She took a deep breath, closing her eyes as Roy left kisses in a line down her neck, and across her shoulders. Tilting her head so that Roy's lips could gain easier access to sensitive spots on her neck and shoulders, Hawkeye felt her heart beating faster, and she could feel his, pounding against her chest. Suddenly, his hand rubbed against a bruise on her upper arm, and she winced.

Roy looked down at the bruise, and then seemed to understand. For the first time, he actually looked at her altogether, his onyx eyes taking in all of her bruises, carpet burns, her cuts and scrapes. "...I did this to you, didn't I?" His voice was low and quiet.

Hawkeye pulled herself up, brushing bangs out of her eyes to give him a long, pleading look. "...Roy, please, not now, not here..."

"I'm sorry." He kissed her again, his hand running through her hair. Roy slowly leaned over her shoulder and inhaled, taking in her scent. "I can't do this now."

"Roy, don't let that stop you."

He gazed at her for a long time. "I can't go on until you tell me that you love me. I won't be able to live with myself, feeling like I took advantage of you again."

This hurt her. She touched his bare shoulder, looking into his eyes, then brought her hand back down to rest on her knee.

"...I love you, Roy. You could never take advantage of me, not as long as that's true."

Roy seemed to take a little while to register this. Finally, he turned to her with humor in his voice. "Well, I suppose we could settle this properly," He teased. "Shall we take this outside?"

"Oh, no, Colonel," She teased back, playfully gathering her things and slinking over to the door. "Upstairs will do just fine."

Well, now, there was a side of Riza Hawkeye that Roy had never seen before. He smirked, also picking up his shirt and boots.

"You ready to make a run for it?"

"Absolutely."

She laughed. "Ready? One..."

"...two..."

"THREE!" They shouted in unison, flinging open the door and rushing out, up the stairs, across the empty hallway, into another stairwell, another deserted flight of stairs... in their underwear. Hawkeye laughed as she ran. It was surreal; how in these past few days, the strict and stern female officer had turned into this emotional terror, and then to feeling like she was free again. Because that was Roy's charisma. That was how he made her feel.

They swung open the door to his room, and slammed it behind them, Roy pushing her up against the wall to kiss her again as the clothing that they had been carrying dropped to the floor softly. She giggled softly against his lips, fumbling for the light switch on the wall behind her. He pulled her hand away and flicked it off, pressing his forehead against hers. "Hm," He smirked again, pushing her backwards untill she fell backwards onto his bed, and then following her down. Riza held back a soft sigh of pleasure, arching her back so that he could unhook her bra with one hand, which was impressive, even for someone like Roy Mustang.


	10. Chapter 10

The sun rose low over the horizon line, making long shadows that were barely visible because it was still dark out. Roy's alarm clock beeped in Riza's ear, the glowing blue digital numbers hurting her eyes. She squinted to see in the dark so that she could slap the snooze button, and sat up, taking care not to disturb Roy's sleeping form. She watched his chest rise and fall, for a few moments. The only sounds in the entire room was his breathing, and hers. But she didn't care. She knew that he was a deep sleeper.

Gathering her clothes and tying her hair up, Riza headed into the bathroom to clean herself up. She closed the door and flicked on the light, stretching with a yawn. When Hawkeye looked up, she gasped at her reflection for the second time that week, only for a different reason. The bruises and burns had healed, for the most part, but Riza wasn't looking at them.

She leaned closer, pulling her hair out of her eyes and tilting her head to the side. Outside of the door, the alarm went off again, and there was a loud groan and a slapping noise from the other room. A smile on her lips, she leaned still closer to the glass, fogging it slightly with her breath. She wiped it away.

Her face looked flushed. Healthy. Rather than her usual pale, delicate complexion that she had developed from stress and not eating enough. Her eyes looked brighter, just sparkled with energy, like a firework on a cold winter night.

Is that really me?

She felt about ten years younger. Her eyes closed, and her mind wandered back to when she was only sixteen, and she was asked out by her first boyfriend. She looked down at the floor, her mind drifting out over those next three years, and then picturing her face when he told her that he was leaving ...that final night that they had spent together...

And the letter that she had received from the head of the military, sending his deepest sympathies...

She shook her head, dispelling the thoughts. She heard thunder rumble outside as she turned on the water in the shower and sighed, praying that there wouldn't be a blackout. All of the male superiors were afraid of the dark.

When Riza had finished up, she pulled her shirt on, ran a comb through her wet hair and walked back out into the room, where she was greeted by the flash of lightning. A loud crack echoed through the mountains, and she heard Havoc in his room directly below Roy's let out a yelp. She sighed. "Looks like it's going to rain," She said drearily.

Roy pulled the covers back over his head and groaned again. Hawkeye calmly walked over to his bed and, in one, fluid motion, whipped the blankets off of the bed and smirked, folding them over her arm and tossing them in a corner. She stifled laughter at Roy, who was curled up into fetal position, his toes tucked under his bottom. He let out a whine of discomfort. "Riza..."

"Up," She instructed. He sat up lazily. "Out."

He swung his legs over the side of the bed and scratched the back of his neck, his eyes still closed. "Up!"

"Alright, woman!" He grumbled, but obeyed her, standing. She walked over to the bathroom door, and held it open. The sleepy Colonel shielded his eyes from the light. She exhaled, holding back laughter. "In."

He walked across the room and into the bathroom, making a big show of bumping into things and stumbling to show her how tired he was. Hawkeye rolled her eyes. "Sir, you're going to have to start getting up earlier. Honestly, it's like getting a child out of bed."

"Then I'd feel sorry for any child of yours."

She rolled her eyes again and smiled, shaking her head as she closed the door behind him. The thunder cracked again, followed by another crash and another yell from downstairs as Breda awoke with a start. Flicking on the lights, Hawkeye pulled on her uniform; the top first, then the bottom, and then slipped into her boots. She heard the shower start up in the next room, followed by a loud crash, as the Colonel swore loudly. She laughed, wondering if Roy was always this graceful so early in the morning. When Riza was done dressing, she called into the bathroom, "I'll be back in a few minutes."

Roy, who was beginning to wake up, spoke a little more clearly than before. "Okay."

Riza carefully and quietly opened the door, and checked in both directions to make sure that there was nobody in the hallway outside. If there was one thing she didn't want, it was to be caught leaving Roy's room at such an early hour, knowing that it would cause big trouble for both of them if anyone found out. When she was sure that nobody was there, she quickly rounded the corner and headed down the stairs, making her way towards her own dorm room to feed Black Hayate.

When she silently unlocked her door and slipped inside, the dog was still sleeping peacefully on her bed. She sat down next to him, rubbing behind his ears with one hand. He awoke slowly, but jumped off of the bed and ran in circles when he saw her. He even barked once, but fell silent after she shot him a stern look. Black Hayate had learned not to mess around with his owner.

After feeding him, she swiped her gun off of her nightstand and headed back upstairs. When she arrived back in Roy's room, he was fully dressed, resetting his alarm for the next morning. "I see that you're up and fully functional," Hawkeye said bemusedly.

"You're a nightmare in the morning, Riza, how do you get up so early?"

"I used to have insomnia, so I'm still a light sleeper. Once I'm up, I'm up." She nodded at him. "Early day today, there's a problem with some of the computers, so we need to get them fixed before seven, in case you forgot."

"Of course I didn't forget. What time is it now?"

She glanced at the clock. "Almost five."

"Holy hell, Riza..." He shook his head, pulling on a white ignition glove. "...too early for my taste."

"With all due respect, sir, you did set the alarm."

"...Did I?" He gazed at the digital numbers, puzzled. "Oh, well, it's too late now. We should go downstairs and get Kain, he fixed the system last time..." There was a pause as they let their minds wander back to the time that Hughes had accidentally set the screen saver on every computer in the network to a slide show of Gracia and Elysia, then somehow froze it, and couldn't manage to get the pictures of his wife and daughter off of the screen. Riza turned to the Colonel. He was smirking out the window. "So let's go."

He held the door for her and then followed her out. At least this time he wouldn't have to watch Hughes' little girl eating crayons on his computer screen all day.

~

When they arrived downstairs, Fuery was already in front of the main computer, typing away. "Good morning," He greeted them with a smile, then it melted into a concentrated glare at the screen, which wouldn't accept his password. Roy leaned over his shoulder. "So it's locked?"

"Yes," Riza said with a face like stone as she glanced sideways disdainfully at her superior. Sometimes, Roy could be pretty dense. "We can assume that much." Only Roy caught the humor in her voice.

Fuery took a sip of coffee and sighed, the glow of the screen reflecting in his dark eyes. "I can't unlock the main system. I just don't get it! I've tried everything."

Riza concentrated at the screen, appearing to think hard. "...Did anyone else change the user password last night? A personal one? Maybe someone accidentally switched around the main system with their personal account."

Roy glanced over his shoulder. "Or maybe someone did it on purpose."

Fuery looked up at the Lieutenant, then at the Colonel. "That's quite possible, actually. Without the code, I can't get into the security system, so none of our surveillance cameras are working properly."

Hughes walked in, whistling. "Morning, everyone!" And as the three of them watched, he sat down at a computer and easily signed in, typing in his username and password. After a moment, he realized that they were all staring at him. "What?" He asked, eyes wide.

Riza nudged Fuery. "Move over," She instructed him. He did.

She hesitated, then typed in her username, and then a password. It logged her on. She sighed. "HUGHES."

He jumped. "Huh?"

"Sir, What on earth did you do to all of the computers?"

They stared at the password she had typed. Fuery looked amused. "E-l-y-s-i-a!"

He gulped. "Sorry."

Riza sighed again. "Kain, can you post a memo, informing all officers of the new password, and instructing them to change it back to the way it was before?" Fuery nodded, signing in and typing away to restart the system without another word.

Later on, as the day progressed, the rain persisted, but so far, no electricity had been lost. Lunchtime came, and Riza took a seat next to Havoc and Breda, with Fuery and Hughes on the other side of the table. They all appeared to be in deep concentration. Hawkeye noticed a deck of playing cards in front of them. "Did I miss anything?"

"Shh," Havoc said, smirking at the other three. "Three kings."

Breda glanced at him, then went back to looking at his cards. "One ace," He said, his face unreadable.

Roy took a seat next to them, and slid some cards over in his direction. Breda waved to his cards. "Twos, Colonel."

Roy looked at his cards, then back at Breda, then back at his cards, then looked at Havoc for a long, long, time. Then he looked back down intently. "Three twos," He said, laying the cards down in the center.

"BULLSHIT!" Fuery cried, slapping his cards down on the table. Roy laughed, turning over the three twos. "Clean, Fuery. Nice try." Fuery let out a whimper and collected the cards in the middle. He was now holding half of the deck.

Riza smirked, looking at Havoc's cards, then back at Roy's. She knew what was going to happen. And, from the look on Roy's face, so did he. Hughes laid down a card and smiled at the other three. "One three."

The next moves were rapid fire, and intense.

Havoc. "Two fours."  
Breda. "One five."  
Roy. "Two sixes."  
Hughes. "One seven."

Havoc paused, taking a drag on his cigarette. "Two eights."

Roy looked down at his cards, appearing to be thinking hard, but underneath the table, his finger traced a line across the top of Hawkeye's hips. She kicked him underneath the table. He laughed. "Bullshit."

Havoc cursed. Breda slapped the table. "Yes! Pay up, Jean." Havoc collected all of the cards in the center, and slid a 20 over to Breda, grumbling. Breda waved the money in the air. "I told him, I said, 'Mustang calls you out every single time.' and he said 'No, he doesn't!' Well, I bet him that you would call his first bullshit, sir, and you did."

Roy, who had been laughing at Havoc's expression, shook his head and sighed. "Don't let the bastard get you down," He said to him. "He knows how good I am."

"Sir," He said, winking at Hawkeye. "There are ladies present."

"None that care who gets called a bastard," Hawkeye shot at him. "As far as this lady is concerned, there's only one bastard with us right now." She smirked at Roy. "I dare you to argue with me."

The three of them watched as Roy laughed again, then sighed, brushing Riza's hair out of her eyes. He stood and walked away, leaving them in silence. Riza sat there, stunned.

They stared at her. "Lieutenant, are you okay? You look like you're going to be sick, or something."

She turned bright red. "Excuse me," She said, quickly standing and following him out of the room quickly. She caught up to him in the hallway. "...What the hell was that?"

"What was what? Oh, that? Nothing. Your hair was in your eyes."

"You're going to have to stop doing that. If anyone finds out, that means big trouble, for both of us, Colonel, you know that!"

"Stop doing it?" He smiled at her. "Stop doing it? Riza, I've done that to you a million times. You've just never noticed before today."

She paused. "Have you?" No wonder the other three didn't say anything until she made a big deal.

"Mhm." He kept walking. "Try not to be so self-conscious." She stopped and watched him walk away, then turned to head into her office. Smooth, Riza, real smooth.

The days flew by, melting into the weeks, fluttering past like the pages of an open book in a strong gust of wind. Nothing out of the ordinary happened, and things went back to the norm, for the most part. The end of spring was fast approaching. It had been nearly a five weeks since the colonel had confessed his love for Hawkeye, and subtle things had changed between them. Only subtle differences in public, at least. Nearly every day, when Hawkeye would enter the Colonel's office for something, and then turned to go, Roy would quickly and silently stand and sneak up behind her, before saying "Riza," catching her wrist, twirling her in, and kissing her. Then he would smile and excuse her to go. It was for this that Hawkeye used any excuse she could to go to his office.

Things were fine, and everything seemed perfect.

It happened on May 18th, at 3:00 in the afternoon. Things were going to change, and they were going to change fast.


	11. Chapter 11

Riza sat at her desk, organizing a mess of papers into folders. She checked the dates, marked it off, and sorted them alphabetically. When she was finished, she closed the heavy green binder and closed it with a thud. As she did, her gaze fell on her desk calendar, lying under the folders. She moved them aside, and stared at the calendar in confusion. Along the side, next to the large printed squares that made up the month of May, there was a column of minuscule mini-months, a tiny version of the calendar's pages, all laid out next to each other. These little ones were used for crossing off the days as they passed, rather than filling in events and schedule, like the big ones, but Riza used the miniature numbered grids for something else. Her eyes traced a line down the column. Every month, once a month, there were four little boxes in a row, all marked with red X's that Hawkeye used to keep track of her cycles. She was a woman, after all.

Now, Hawkeye tilted her head to the side, gazing at them. Something was wrong, but she couldn't tell what. She glanced at today's date. May 18th. She stared at the last red X. It was drawn carefully across April 3rd. That can't be right, She thought. What about May? What about this month? It should have already happened. It should have happened last week. Had she forgotten to write them in? She frowned at the little red X on April 3rd. Riza closed her eyes and thought back to the past few weeks, trying to remember. But she couldn't remember it. Why couldn't she remember it? Something inside of her did a nervous flip. Her mind was doing frantic sums, adding days, subtracting weeks...

It's impossible. This can't be right...

I'm just late. I'm just late this month. I didn't miss it... She stared at the X. It seemed to be laughing at her. Nearly six weeks ago, she'd marked her last X. Her eyes blurred with tears. Oh... no... this can't be happening...

"No," She said aloud. The tears vanished. She would wait it out. I'm just late this month, Riza decided. Late, that's all.

Hawkeye was never one to jump to conclusions.

But another week passed, and every day, she would pray that the bleeding would start. Just a spot of blood, anything. Every night, she would pray that it start tomorrow. But it never did. She began to consider telling Roy. You have to tell him, She reminded herself each day. You can't just put it off, you have to do something. So far, Hawkeye had been in denial, but she slowly began to accept it. One night, when she was sure that everyone else had already gone back to the dorm for the night, she sat alone in her office, staring at the phone. She knew that it was time. She knew that she had to tell him now. She hesitated, but picked up the telephone and dialed his number, and then his extension, knowing that he might not even be here anymore. He might be in bed already. She waited for him to pick up, and swallowed hard.

"Hello?"

She didn't say anything. She was suddenly scared to go on. Roy paused. "Hello?"

She took a deep breath. "Roy?"

He exhaled. "Oh, Riza, it's you. What's going on?"

Hawkeye sighed. "Can you maybe... come to my office for a minute? There's... something... that I need to tell you."

"Is everything okay?" She could hear the concern in his voice.

"Yes," She replied. "Listen, can you just come?"

"Okay." She heard a click, and then a dial tone, before slowly hanging up the phone.

Within moments, there was a quick knock at the door, and Roy entered, looking concerned. She looked up at him wearily, her eyes red from lack of sleep. He was at her side in an instant. "Are you okay? You look like hell." She turned to face him, but kept her eyes on the floor. "You didn't use..." She said, her voice a low, weak whisper. "You didn't use... protection... did you?" It didn't sound like a question to Roy.

He drew back, alarmed. "I..." He suddenly paused. "...I don't remember."

She closed her eyes and swallowed hard again, taking a deep breath. "I... I think I'm..." She breathed deeply again. "I think I'm pregnant." Riza said softly, concentrating on the cool, smooth surface of her desk. She felt Roy's weight shift next to her. He slowly knelt down to her level, carefuly brushing bangs out of her eyes, and gently lifting her face to look at him with the side of his hand. "Are you sure?"

She bit her lip and looked away, tears filling her eyes. "Yes." As usual, Roy stayed calm. "When was the last time you..."

"Almost six weeks ago. I just realized it last week, but I thought... I thought it was just a mistake, or maybe I was just late. I was wrong." She began to cry. He moved in closer to her and took her in his arms.

"Shhh," He said, his voice low and quiet, calming her a bit. "It's okay..."

She buried her face in his neck. "...I don't know if I'm ready for this. I don't know if I can do it."

He hugged her tighter. "I know, but we have to take it as it comes and accept this. You're going to be fine, and you can always get an abortion, right?"

At this, she looked up sharply. "I can't do that," She said incredulously. "You know me well enough, you know I could never do that." He nodded.

There was a moment of silence. "I don't want to leave," She said, beginning to calm down now. "I want to stay here."

Roy looked upset. "You don't have to worry about that now, but keep in mind, you very well might have to take a maternity leave, later on."

"I'm going to stay for as long as I can, then." She paused, and then smiled through her tears. "Roy," Hawkeye couldn't help but laugh. "Are you crying?"

He looked up and laughed shortly, wiping away a single, underdeveloped tear. "Heh. No, I just can't believe it." He gazed down at her flat stomach, beginning to laugh. "I'm going to be a father?"

She laughed too, gazing down at the floor. "Yes."

Hawkeye was suddenly overcome by a swell of emotion. She'd always dreamed of this day, and sure, maybe it hadn't worked out quite the way she'd planned it, but it was finally here. I'm going to have a baby, she thought, another tear running down her face. She wiped it away, unable to contain herself. "Oh, my god," She exclaimed. "I'm going to have a baby!"

Roy shook his head and grinned at the floor. Suddenly, his dark eyes lit up. "Riza," He said a bit too casually, leaning in to kiss her. "Don't couples generally get married before they have a baby?"

She pushed him away playfully before his lips met hers. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves, Colonel."

"So then," He said, leaning in to kiss her again. "What do we do now?"

She sighed and pretended to stretch her arms, tired. "Well, I don't know." She said, faking a huge yawn. "I'm really tired, so I might just go up to bed, now." A small smile played across her lips, mocking him. "After all," Hawkeye shrugged. "It's been a long day, and I don't-"

But Roy was already up, pressing her against the wall, his lips on hers.


	12. Chapter 12

Months flew by, and of course, everyone knew about Roy and Riza now. What were they going to do? Tell everyone that she wasn't really pregnant?

Things were relatively normal in Central, except for the growing bump in Riza's uniform.

Summer came, hot and dry, and then faded into autumn, the green leaves melting into an explosion of yellows, oranges, reds, and browns. Late November brought the first snow of the year, and December brought Christmas, along with Gracia and Elysia, who was almost four.

"She's beautiful," Hawkeye said, bending carefully to smooth back Elysia's soft brown hair.

"And look at you!" Gracia smiled down at the sizable bump that showed through Hawkeye's blouse. "You're so far along since I last saw you! How many months has it been?"

"A bit under nine," Riza beamed, taking a seat on a sofa in Gracia's living room. "Any day now."

Roy walked in with Hughes, who stoked the fire a bit, before plopping down into a seat next to Gracia, and pulling Elysia into his lap. "Did you miss Daddy?"

She giggled and showed him a crayon drawing that had Hughes, Gracia, and herself holding hands. "Mewwy Kwismas, Daddy," She said, giggling again and giving him the drawing. Hughes squealed, practically in tears, and showed his wife the mess of crayon scribbles.

"Look at what she did," He said, beaming with pride. "Isn't it beautiful?" Then, wiping tears from his eyes, he promptly left the room to hang up the drawing.

~

New Year's eve brought more guests. The five of them remained, only now they were joined by Edward, Al, Winry, Breda, Falman, Fuery, Armstrong, Havoc, and many others.

Again, Elysia ran up to Hughes and presented him with yet another drawing, causing the Lieutenant Colonel to jump up and run from the room to hang it up. "THANK YOU, ELYSIA!" He cried.

Roy shook his head. "Riza, if this kid turns me into a second Hughes, shoot me on sight."

She rolled her eyes. "Yes, sir." Then her face lit up. "Oh, it's kicking again!"

Immediately, Roy had the side of his face pressed against her stomach. "Oh, wow," He muttered. "It's trying to kill you."

She smiled. "Nonsense, it doesn't even hurt. Here, put your hand right there."

He did so. At the same time, Ed came up to them. "Hi, Lieutenant," He began, and then his expression changed. "Woah, you're really far along."

Winry came up beside him. "Where have you been, under a rock?" she teased. She looked down at Hawkeye's stomach, her eyes shining. "Can I feel?" She asked. Riza nodded. Winry hesitated, before gently placing a hand on the bulge. "Oh!" She exclaimed, pulling her hand away. "It's kicking!"

"Mhm." Hawkeye smiled at her stomach.

"Two minutes to midnight," Havoc called, taking a drag on his cigarette.

Roy, who had been watching the floor this whole time, raised his head, and glanced at Gracia, who nodded. Hawkeye watched this exchange with some confusion, before Gracia quickly got up and left the room, returning with Hughes. They both sat down on the couch and casually looked at Roy. Hawkeye looked at him strangely. "What's going on?" She suddenly realized that everyone was watching her.

"Riza," Roy said, turning to face her. "These past months have been unreal, the best times of my life. And I know that it would never have been like that, if it wasn't for you."

She looked around uncertainly. "I feel the same way, but-"

"Just... let me finish," Roy said. "What I'm trying to say is, you're the best thing that's ever happened to me, and I love you more than anything in the world."

"One minute!" Havoc called, watching them intently.

"Riza Hawkeye," Roy said, getting down on one knee, and pulling a black velvet box out of his pocket. He opened it, revealing a glittering diamond. "Will you marry me?"

She brought a hand to her mouth in shock.

"Twenty seconds!" Havoc said.

She looked around at everyone, who were watching her with bright, expectant eyes.

"Ten seconds!"

Roy looked up at her determinedly. The room began to count.

"Ten!"

"Nine!"

"Eight!"

She couldn't speak.

"Seven!"

"Six!"

"Five!"

"Four!"

"Three!"

Roy stared up at her.

"Two!"

"One!"

"Yes!" She exclaimed, throwing her arms around him and pulling him into a kiss. Around them, the crowd erupted into cheers, streamers and confetti flying everywhere. "Happy New Year!" The two of them only sat there, rocking back in forth in each others arms, a sparkling diamond ring on Riza's finger.


	13. Chapter 13

A/N: The final chapter! :'D I had so much fun doing this, since it was really just crack and drabbles. I'm a much better writer than this, actually. ^^; Trust me.

Late that night, Hawkeye awoke with a start, feeling something damp between her legs. Huh? She lifted the blanket off of her, trying to see through the darkness. A wet patch on the sheets. Her mind suddenly spun. My water's broken, She thought, trying not to panic. So soon? Her eyes widened as she felt the baby kick violently inside of her. "Ow! Roy! Roy!" She pushed him, and he lifted his head sleepily. "What is it?"

"Get up!" She kicked him slightly. "It's here! The baby's coming!"

He was up in a flash. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah," She winced, gripping the sheets and slipping out of bed. "Call Gracia."

He helped her get up and dressed, and then made a quick phone call. "Hughes is going to drive you," He said, the phone still pressed to his ear. "I'm going over to Gracia's, and then we'll come in a few minutes."

"Okay," She nodded, as Hughes approached.

"Alrighty then, let's get you in the car," He said, closing the door behind her and coming around, before getting into his seat and turning the key in the ignition. Hawkeye winced again. "Okay, let's just go already."

In less than 20 minutes, they were in the hospital, and Riza was in a bed, prepping for labor. She moodily took a sip of water. Why the middle of the night? I'm going to be a wreck tomorrow.

Several minutes passed, and the frown on Riza's face grew as contractions intensified.

The phone rang somewhere outside. Hawkeye took several deep breaths and tried to relax, knowing that Gracia would be here soon. If Gracia could do it, she could do it. How hard could it be? It couldn't possibly be that-

"Ow!" Hawkeye gasped, her eyes darting down to the bulge under her hospital gown. Forget that. I'm gonna die.

A doctor rushed in, his hand over the receiver of the phone. "Riza, are you able to take this?" She grunted and hoisted herself up further in the bed. "Gimme the phone," She groaned, reaching for it. "Hello?"

"Riza!" Gracia's voice was relieved. "How are you doing? We're just leaving the house now. Roy's here, he's coming with us, oh, we're all so excited!"

Riza paused, a bead of sweat trickling down her face. "....Roy's coming with you?"

"Yes, do you want to talk to him?"

"No, thanks," Riza said, trying to relax again. "Just... can you do me a favor?"

"Sure, anything."

"Bring a frying pan?"

Gracia paused, puzzled. "A frying pan?"

"Just do it, please..." Hawkeye bit her lip, breathing deeply. "I have to go."

"Okay, we'll be right there!"

* * *

"Ngh!" She winced, her eyes scanning the hallway outside. Where the hell is everybody? Do I have to ring a goddamn alarm? "ALRIGHT, MEN," She yelled, her face red. "LET'S GET MOVING, WE'VE GOT A BABY COMING, HERE."

Immediately, several doctors rushed in, all set to go. Gracia and Roy came in behind them. "Riza!" She cried, holding it out. "I brought you the-"

DONGGGGGGG.

Riza had already swiped the frying pan from Gracia and smashed Roy over the head with it. "YOU DID THIS TO ME." She roared, making the dizzy Colonel cower in fear. His eyes took a moment to focus. "I... I'll.... I'll just be waiting... outside..." He mumbled, before a nurse kindly escorted him from the room.

"Gracia," Hawkeye said, looking up into her eyes. "I want you to be the baby's godmother."

She looked shocked. "...Me?"

"Yes. I could have never gotten through this without you, never in a million years."

Gracia's eyes looked moist. "...I'm touched. Really, but-"

"No buts." Riza's face hardened, but her eyes were soft. "You've been a blessing to me."

Gracia smiled. "If you insist."

Suddenly, Hawkeye let out a yell, her face contorted with discomfort. "AGH... SOMEONE GO OUT THERE AND HIT HIM WITH THE FRYING PAN."

"No!" Gracia cried, chasing after Hughes, who was already rushing out with it.

"Oh, shit, shit, shit!"

"Push! You're doing spectacularly!"

"I'M GOING TO KILL YOU, ROY!"

"Just relax, you're doing great!"

"Agh!"

An hour passed.

Hawkeye collapsed onto her pillow, her entire body damp with perspiration. Her hands traveled down to her stomach. They met flat, uninterrupted skin. As if this had never happened. As if it had all been a dream. But thank God, it wasn't.

"Riza..." A dreamy, far away voice said to her warmly. "Would you like to meet your son?"

She lifted her head. What was that?

It was small. And pink. She tilted her head to the side and rubbed one eye.

A doctor carefully placed it in her arms. Riza looked down at the infant, slightly shocked. She had never felt anything so soft in her life. She gently rested a finger on his chest. A wave of emotion swelled up inside of her. His heartbeat....

He opened his eyes, which were the most beautiful things that she'd ever seen, and gazed up at her questioningly.

"Gabriel," She whispered, holding him close to her.


End file.
